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Interethnic conflicts are never the consequence of religious differences, they are always generated by the politics. However, diversity in Christian traditions makes the impression that these problems are real and rational, and the only solution for them, the radical one could be: nationalism and homogenization of citizens. Below we will follow how revolutionary events in 1848 influenced the “private life” of churches in the Hungarian Kingdom of that time.

Proclaiming equality before the law for denominations by the Statute nr. XX. in 1848, challenged both the churches and the civil rights. In many cases religious freedom goes hand in hand with national identity. This essay aims to review the attitude of the First Hungarian Government (lead by count Lajos Batthyány from March to September 1848) towards the churches of the Hungarian Kingdom at that time. We will follow the historical events, the debates of the Parliament, the interpellations of emblematic characters of the Revolution and Freedom Fighting in 1848–49, using mainly the reports of the newspaper Pesti Hírlap, which became the Official Gazette of the Batthyány-Government in 1848 and the primary source to study and understand the political thinking and liberal attitude concerning equality and freedom of religious faith. Beside the Reformed Church’s perspective, this analysis reviews the implications of these debates for the Roman and Greek Catholic Churches, Greek Orthodox (Eastern) Church and Israelites.